Former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina (AP photo)

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina late Friday reacted sharply to the recently held general elections in the South Asian nation, dismissing the February 12 polls as a “pre-planned election of deception and farce” and calling it a “disgraceful chapter” in the country’s history. Her remarks come as her party, the Awami League, remained entirely absent from the electoral contest, while Hasina continues to live in exile in New Delhi following her ouster in August 2024 over security concerns.In a statement, Hasina said, “On 12 February, the nation witnessed a pre-planned election of deception and farce, one that will be recorded as a disgraceful chapter in Bangladesh’s democratic history.”She further questioned the legitimacy of the polls, saying they did not reflect the “public will” and alleging that the exercise amounted to an industrial-scale administrative effort to manipulate numbers.Providing detailed figures to support her claim, Hasina said, “The total number of registered voters in this election was 127,711,793. Voting began at 7:30 a.m. and continued until 4:30 p.m. Serious irregularities were observed, both in the conduct of voting and in the turnout percentages released in stages by the Election Commission, many of which appeared inconsistent and unrealistic. According to the Commission’s first briefing, by 11:00 a.m.—the first 3 hours and 30 minutes—14.96% of votes had been cast, equivalent to 19,105,684 ballots. That would mean an average of 90,979 votes per minute…”Meanwhile, Hasina’s arch-rival and former PM, as well as BNP supremo Khaleda Zia, had died weeks before the elections. The BNP, now led by her son Tarique Rahman, secured a commanding majority, winning two-thirds of the total seats.The BNP’s return to power has renewed calls from Dhaka for Hasina’s extradition from India, presenting a complex diplomatic challenge for New Delhi.Following the BNP’s sweeping victory in the country’s first general election since the 2024 uprising, senior party leader Salahuddin Ahmed said the incoming government would take steps to secure Hasina’s return to Bangladesh to face trial.